Sudan’s Khartoum State government holds 1st meeting in 2 years at its headquarters

By Esra Tekin

ISTANBUL (AA) – Sudan’s Khartoum State government announced the resumption of its activities Wednesday from its official headquarters in Sudan’s capital, becoming the first government entity to resume operations in Khartoum after the military regained control of the city from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The state government said in a statement that in response to its call for federal ministries to return to their headquarters, it held the first meeting of the Supreme Emergency and Crisis Management Committee initiated by the governor of Khartoum.

The members of the committee had to hold the meeting sitting on the ground due to the extensive damage sustained by the General Secretariat building.

The Khartoum government added that the meeting addressed an urgent intervention program to restore life to the capital’s headquarters and other municipalities that had been cleared of the RSF.

On March 27, the Sudanese army announced that its forces had managed to clear the last pockets of the RSF in Khartoum Governorate after regaining control of Khartoum International Airport, security and military headquarters and several neighborhoods in the east and south of the capital for the first time since April 2023.

"After touring the liberated areas of the capital, it became clear that systematic sabotage had targeted infrastructure, particularly electricity and water stations, which requires the support and assistance of the federal government and international partners to restore these facilities," said Khartoum Governor Ahmed Osman Hamza.

Out of Sudan’s 18 states, the RSF now only controls pockets in the west and south of Omdurman and parts of North Kordofan and West Kordofan states.

The RSF also controls four states in the Darfur region, while the army maintains control of Al-Fashir, the capital of North Darfur, the fifth state in the region.

Since April 2023, the Sudanese army and the RSF have been engaged in a conflict that has resulted in over 20,000 deaths and around 15 million displaced people, according to the United Nations and local authorities. However, research by American universities estimates the death toll to be around 130,000.